Prevent Planting in Illinois: What You Need to Know

Prevent planting (PP) is a critical component of crop insurance, especially in Illinois where unpredictable weather can disrupt planting schedules. Here’s an overview based on the USDA Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) guidelines. Prevented planting occurs when you’re unable to plant your crop by the final planting date or during the late planting period due to an insured cause like excessive moisture or drought. In Illinois, for corn, the final date is June 5, and for soybeans, it’s June 20 – though these dates can vary by county.

🌾 What Is Prevented Planting?

Prevented planting refers to the inability to plant an insured crop by the final planting date or during the late planting period due to an insured cause, such as excessive moisture or drought. To qualify:

• Insured Cause: The cause must be general to the area and occur within the PP insurance period.

• Eligible Acres: The acreage must be available for planting and meet all policy provisions.

If you have an MPCI policy and are prevented from planting, you may be eligible for a payment, typically:

• 55% of your original guarantee for corn

• 60% for soybeans

You can increase this coverage by 5% for an additional premium, but this must be elected when you purchase your policy.

🌧️ What Are My Options?

If you can’t plant by these dates, you have options:

1. Take a prevented planting payment: Opt to not plant and receive a payment.

2. Plant during the late planting period: Plant with reduced coverage.

3. Plant a different crop: Choose another crop, which may affect your payment.

   1. Receive 35% PP payment and pay 35% of the premium

   2. The 2nd crop must be insured

   3. 100% of the 2nd crop premium is due

   4. The APH for the prevented crop’s acres will receive 60% of the approved yield

🌱 Planting Cover Crops on PP Acres

Producers can plant cover crops on PP acres. The cover crop must not be planting before the final planting date of the prevented crop to avoid affecting PP payments.

📜 The "1 in 4" Rule

To maintain PP eligibility:

• Requirement: The acreage must have been plant, insured, and harvested (or adjusted for a claim) in at least 1 of the 4 most recent crop years.

❗Can You Claim Prevent Plant on Added Land?

“Added land” refers to the acreage you picked up for the new policy period. Since it’s added after your policy is already in place, it wasn’t part of your initial APH database or insured acreage.

So, the answer is yes – but with conditions.

✅ Eligibility Requirements for PP on Added Land

• Insurable Interest: You must have control of the added acreage by the acreage reporting date.

• PP History or Regional PP Pattern

  • If you’ve had PP coverage on similar land (by crop type and practice) in the same area, that helps.

  • If prevented planting was widespread in the area, you may still qualify even if you didn’t personally farm the land before.

• The “1-in-4 Rule” Applies: The land must have been planted, insured, and harvested (or adjusted as a claim) at least once in the previous 4 crop years.

• Acres must be available and intended to plant: You must show that you intended to plant a crop on that land. Documentation like seed purchases, field prep, or equipment logs helps.

🧾 Documentation and Reporting

If prevented from planting:

• Notification: Inform your crop insurance agent within 72 hours after the final planting date or when you decide not to plant during the late planting period.

• Records: Maintain detailed records of planting attempts and conditions that prevented planting.

💬 Pro Tip:

Always loop in your crop insurance agent before planting deadlines to get a clear answer for your specific acres. Every county and situation can have nuances, and agents can help get the RMA approval if needed.

🧑‍🌾 Final Thoughts

Understanding prevent planting provisions is essential for managing risks associated with delayed or prevented planting. Always consult with your crop insurance agent to navigate specific scenarios and ensure compliance with policy requirements.

For more detailed information, refer to the USDA RMA’s Prevented Planting Coverage FAQs: RMA - FAQs Prevent Plant